Generally, forceps are a plier-like instrument having opposing jaws and teeth for effecting a feature or item of interest such as a vessel or tissue. Electing may mean for example, that a feature of interest is gripped, manipulated, pulled, and/or constricted with the jaws and/or teeth. While aggressive tooth patterns may he desirable for reliably gripping and manipulating a vessel or tissue between the jaws, an aggressive tooth pattern may undesirably tear or otherwise damage the gipped vessel or tissue. As can be imagined, a tom or damaged vessel or tissue may cause pain, discomfort, and/or scarring to a patient; may cause increased blood loss; the duration of the medical procedure may be extended; and/or additional complications may occur. While a less aggressive tooth pattern may prevent a vessel or tissue from becoming torn or otherwise damaged, a less aggressive tooth pattern may undesirably cause a surgeon to struggle to manipulate the vessel or tissue, especially a thicker vessel or tissue section.
Electrosurgical forceps are a plier-like instrument having opposing jaws and teeth for effecting a vessel or tissue; however, one or both of the jaws are provided with an electrosurgical signal for coagulating the vessel or tissue between the jaws. While aggressive tooth patterns may be desired to reliably grip and manipulate a vessel or tissue, an aggressive tooth pattern may tear or otherwise damage a tissue or vessel, which may cause the opposing jaws to contact each other and cause an electrical short circuit and/or electrical fault.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,784,136, 5,059,214, 6,162,220, and 7,887,535 appear to describe exemplary instruments that may be used as a medical instrument or forceps, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. However, the aforementioned devices do not appear to remedy the above described problems. Thus, it may be desirable to provide an instrument or forceps that have a suitable tooth pattern that can securely grip, manipulate, pull and/or constrict a vessel or tissue, while reducing or preventing the vessel or tissue from tearing, ripping, and/or otherwise becoming damaging when gripped.